AFCW 5 Basford United 3

AFC Wulfrunians came out of an eight goal thriller against high-flying Basford United with an impressive win. Wulfs were clinical- they took their chances and never allowed the visitors to peg them back.

It took just two minutes for Wulfs to open the scoring; some great pressure by Jamie King forced Basford’s ‘keeper, Saul Deeney, to make a poor clearance. The ball fell to Scott Stevenson, who curled into the empty net from 30 yards.

Basford hit back when Lee Hendrie’s cross was met at the front post by Josh Thronton, but Jono Brown got a great hand to the header to push it onto the post.

Skipper Jake Sedgemore doubled the lead for Wulfs after just 10 minutes. King pulled the ball back to the edge of the area, Jordan Perks dummied and Sedgemore fired in off the post from 20 yards out.

The visitors pulled one back after 28 minutes- Hendrie had his shot blocked, but Ruben Wiggins-Thomas was on hand to fire home the equaliser.

Two set-pieces resulted in Wulfs extending their lead. King’s free kick from the edge was tipped over and the resulting corner was poorly cleared, allowing Ryan Talbot to calmly volley past Deeney.

A penalty 12 minutes after the break gave the visitors some hope. Robson Doolan was brought down by Richard Palmer just inside the area, and Aaron Webster sent Brown the wrong way with his spot kick.

King put Wulfs further ahead almost instantly. He latched onto a great ball by John Hill and effortlessly floated the ball over the head of the ‘keeper with his first touch.

Perks added the home side’s final goal with 15 minutes remaining; as he showed great composure to control David Howells’ cross before firing it into the bottom corner.

A late consolation for the visitors was added by Blair Anderson, as he cut in from the left after a cross and hit his shot through a crowd of defenders past Brown.

Wulfrunians will look to build on this notable result in the festive period as they travel to Heath Hayes on Boxing Day.